Editors: Drew M. Loewe, St. Edward’s University and Cheryl E. Ball, West Virginia University

Proposal Deadline: Sept 1, 2015

In the tradition of the provocative science- and social-science-focused book, This Idea Must Die,” the proposed collection intends to provide teachers, parents, and administrators with short, provocative, and thoroughly researched answers to the age-old question of Why Johnny Can’t Write. But rather than being a book of scapegoated ideas and strawman arguments, the authors of these essays — as scholars of rhetoric and composition — will discuss, in readable relatively jargon-free ways, why the centuries of writing instruction that undergird the “public”’s understanding of what is expected from writing instruction and how it should be taught is mostly WRONG, or at least misunderstood. The collection will provide a snapshot of major myths about writing instruction, with footnoted resources and/or annotated bibliographies for each entry, and each essay– rants, if you will — that will be followed by anti-rants or counter-arguments or decrees of agreement by other authors. We envision the collection as an agon of opinionated statements about writing instruction that will spark debate and rethinking of pieties and myths.

The primary audience of this collection is intended to be the news media, editors of national trade publications that feature regular columns on higher education and writing, teachers of writing and teachers who assign writing from K-16+, as well as concerned parents.

Possible Topics:

Acontextual Grammar Instruction

The Rhetorical Situation and Rhetorical Triangle

Anyone can Teach Writing

Teacher as Audience

The Research Paper

Plagiarism as Anti-Morality/ Plagiarism Detection Software

The Routinization of Process Pedagogy

Outlining Facilitates Invention

Five-paragraph Essays Are Great!

Text Messaging Harms Literacy

FYC as Inoculation

Games Ruin Kids’ Brains

Single-Document Assessments of Courses or Programs

Rubrics

Pop culture is killing high culture – as writing topics:

Writing is Contentless

WYSIWIGs

Emphasizing Revision is Always the Best Way to Teach Writing

Universal Requirement of FYC

Writing Should Only Be About Writing

AP/SAT as Placement Mechanisms

MLA is the Pinnacle of Citation Forms

Dual-Enrollment FYC

Standard Written English

Basic Writing is for Dummies and Foreigners

Writing Can Be Taught in One Semester/Year

This is not an exhaustive list, and we invite contributors to propose additional topics. In addition, we also invite contributors to push back against these ideas. We seek an agon, not an echo chamber.

The editors seek 300-word proposals for entries that will be 1,200-3,000 words (plus, or including the responses). Proposals can be for the main entries or, if authors have a particular anti-stance (e.g., if someone thinks the above topics are good models of teaching writing) for response entries. Editors welcome collaborative proposals where one author (or co-authors) write the main essay and response-authors write follow-ups. If collaborative proposals are not submitted, the editors will attempt to find response authors for each post. (Yes, like the This Idea Must Die book, we imagine each chapter to be a series of bloggishly-length arguments that are supported by research and experience). The deadline for proposals is September 1, 2015. Please email questions and proposals to: drewml@stedwards.edu and s2ceball@gmail.com. (Markdown formats preferred.) Queries via email or Twitter ( @drewloewe and @s2ceball) welcome.

abstractThis “book-length” collection entitled The New Work of Composing examines the complex and semiotically rich challenges and opportunities posed by new modes of composing, new forms of rhetoric, new concepts of texts and textuality, and new ways of making meaning. In particular, this multimodal, digital book will explore how digital media are shaping our understanding of scholarly projects within composition studies. In so doing, it will address the need to re-think what constitutes the “book” in an era of “born digital” scholarship.

abstractRAW (Reading & Writing) New Media is an edited collection of contemporary theoretical and pedagogical issues in new media studies. Chapters are written by a range of digital writing studies scholars, from graduate students to full professors. There is an accompanying website to the book.

status

In progress: Prospectus and four chapters go to MIT Press in November 2006, for consideration. 18 chapters are in final editing stages.

Accepted for publication: Book is forthcoming from Hampton Press (Fall/Winter 2009) with 21 chapters.